Anyone switch to cloth diapers b/c of diaper rash?

[whozeyermamma]

So DS has always been a little more "rashy" than DD ever was, even though I change him very frequently and almost always use desatin.

But it just seems like he's got a red bum - right around his anus - that won't go away. It gets a little better or maybe all better but then it gets worse. We pretty much use whatever dispos diapers are on sale. Right now it's Target brand.

It's not super bad but it's bad enough that I don't want him to be dealing with it. So at 8 months I'm considering cloth diapers, which terrifies and overwhelms me.

Did that happen to you and did the cloth diapers make it better? What about those non-clorine diapers? Any other suggestions for better creams? If cloth diapers did do the trick - how the heck do I switch to cloth at this point?

[thedenverduo]

My mom did cloth with me when I was a baby because I was so sensitive to disposables, and it has been the same way with my son.  No matter what brand of diaper I use he is always rashy.  But it doesn't sound like this is what's going on with your ds.

My ds gets a rash everywhere the diaper touches, all over his whole bottom and genital area.  If your son was allergic to the diapers I think you would be seeing something similar.  Since you say the rash is worse right around his anus I would think food allergy/sensitivity before I would say diaper allergy/sensitivity.  I don't have a lot of experience with food allergies/sensitivities but I do know that if he is allergic or really sensitive to something (lets say dairy) that the upset to his digestive system could cause really acidic poops or really irritating poops... which would cause a rash right around his anus where the poop touches him.

You could just buy a couple of prefold cloth diapers for a couple dollars and a couple safety pins and do some 'old fashioned' cloth diaper action for a few days to see if it makes a difference.  Or maybe you know someone IRL that does cloth dipes that you could borrow for a few days?

I would also suggest that you post something over in the Allergies forum (it is a subforum of Health and Healing).  The ladies over there are really knowledgeable and I bet they would have some experience with food allergies causing diaper rash.

HTH! And let me know what you figure out!

[jpietryka]

While I intended to cloth diaper my son before he was born, it took three weeks for him to fit into the bumgenius AIO's I'd bought.  In that time he had a constant bright red rash all over his bottom.  It was horrible!  Thankfully once we got him into the cloth diapers it cleared up quickly. 

I can't say enough about how wonderful cloth diapering has been for us.  Not only for his skin, but they seem much better at preventing blow-outs.  Whenever we have to rely on disposables (vacations and such) we are constatly having issues with the "up the back migration" and the gel stuff coming out of the diapers...and that's Huggies Pure and Natural, not some funky off brand.

I know that Kelly's Closet has a 30 day money back program. =)

Good luck!

[hippiemum21580]

My hunch is it sounds like more of a food sensitivity rash. Three of my boys were very sensitive to citrus and acidic foods and milk and would get a red rash around the anus from the BM's following these foods in their diet.

That being said my boys all had far less issues with rashes whe using cloth dipes! I get minepre used off ebay. :) Or home made from friends. I wash in baking soda, tea tree oil and a lil vinegar in the rinse.

[allisonrose]

If you decide to try a different rash cream, I've had luck with Method's diaper cream. It doesn't have zinc oxide (so it is more cloth diaper friendly) so it's different from Desitin. I heard a sposie using mom talking about switching from zinc oxide cream to zinc oxide cream and the first thing that popped into my head was if the active ingredient is the same then the result will likely be the same. Just a theory.

[rlee*]

try coconut oil for the diaper rash....might work if it's not food related.

[whozeyermamma]

Thanks all!

A few things- I started using a TON of desatin - not just a swipe and it seems to be helping. That and I've given him a good amount of naked time. Also - I realized that the rash got really bad right after I had Indian buffet - so maybe that had something to do with it.

That said, I'm going to try to coconut oil and I'm going to contemplate the cloth. Maybe even just some of the time.

[NewBeginnings1]

Trying elimination communication (EC) might help. My 6mo DS has been pooping/peeing in the potty since he was 2.5mo, which greatly reduces diaper rash. We do it part time with disposable as backup.

[Terrilein]

My boy was really rashy for the first few months and nothing, not even cloth seemed to help. I ended up using a combination of things to help him heal: polarfleece as a liner (microfleece would probably do, too), his usualy diaper rash cream generously applied like you're doing now, and then a little blob of "healing wool" over the rash area. I don't know what it's really called in English. It's Heilwolle in German, so google Heilwolle to see a pic of what I mean. This wool worked especially well when he got a severe rash that was also bleeding.

ETA: I also blow dry his bottom, too.

Edited by Terrilein - 3/1/11 at 12:05am

[JudiAU]

Don't be terrified. We didn't use cloth with our first and we are forever kicking ourselves when it turned out to be easy and SO cheap. We use all used pockets. No variations at all. (sized fuzibunz) My ped now recommends cloth to people with rash problems and she is pretty conventional..

If you are totally new to cloth and don't want to overwhelmed, this type of thing is a great low stress option. You can try lots of types it is really cheap, and many people are totally surprised by their ultimate choice. http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryclothfor10/tryclothfor10

[smeep]

I'm sure it's been pretty much covered but I just wanted to say that I switched to cloth because DS kept getting rashes. Pampers were the only conventional disposables that didn't give him rashes ALL the time, just occasionally. Seventh Generation almost never gave him rashes. But they were all so expensive so I just went with cloth. I found that diaper swappers and other sites were GREAT for starting out. If I didn't like it I would just resell it for what I paid, so I just end up paying shipping cost to me to try it out, which isn't much. I'm so glad I switched and my new baby is almost 3 weeks old and has never once worn a disposable and won't either.